Taiki
"Everyone deserves a chance to be a hero - even if they're a Reaper, or even if they're a Game Master. Even if it's for a little moment, and even if it's at the last second, it counts. That's what I think!" Taiki is a Player from Week 15 of The Reaper's Game. He is Kogasa's younger brother, and is the middle brother of three Hiraoka boys. (If you are here for Week 15 page numbers, please scroll down to the comments section.) Appearance Taiki is a fair skinned boy with freckles dotting the bridge of his nose, his cheeks, and his shoulders. His build is lithe but athletic due in part to his passion for acting and dancing. Fiery orange-red hair and bright hazel eyes makes him stand out from the crowd, if his peppy personality doesn't already do that for him. His eyes often depicted stars in them as highlights upon death and during Day 0, which were replaced with broken hearts once his entry fee was taken. These highlights have become stars once more upon revival. Taiki's wardrobe consists of simple hand-me-down clothing with solid colors. During Week 15, Taiki wore a red hoodie with a solid gray shirt underneath it and jeans ending with white sneakers. A fluffy white scarf from Jean (as of Day 0) that he adorned his pins upon is wrapped securely around his neck, and the pins he uses in battle are pinned close to the left side of his face. The boy occasionally wears a Team Skull beanie that Takumi gave to all of the Players Day 0. Taiki also had a wide variety of bracelets on both of his arms; however, Taiki had since gifted two of these bracelets to Kou, with the rest of them being donated to the memorial and rehomed by others on Day 7. Taiki's psyches were initially channeled through a wide variety of toys that are shaped like weapons. These toys turned into actual weapons upon wielding them in the Noise plane, and he can switch between weapons by calling their name. He mainly uses a toy katana, which he received from Jean, and a toy shield from Takumi. Taiki also has a toy hammer from V and a toy dagger from Usa. After a fight with the Glitch Hop Pig, Taiki stopped using his weapons and fully shifted towards attacking with electricity. Other notes about Taiki's appearance include: *While Kogasa's eyes were dot-like and hollow when drawn as a twelve year old, which carried into his entry fee, Taiki's eyes are large and expressive. *The highlights in Taiki's eyes and hair are star-shaped for pre and post-game Taiki. During the game, his highlights were shaped like broken hearts, with only his hair bearing little stars. *Taiki's scarf and sweater flutter when he unleashes attacks, giving his clothing a heroic or cape-like quality to them. *Taiki's katana is named "Usagami," or "bunny God," after the fact that Jean and Usa were Composers who were linked to bunnies. *Taiki's shield is named "Kirakira," or "sparkle sparkle," since Takumi uses their illusionary Reaper power in order to create a sparkling effect around them. *Taiki's hammer is named "Victory" due to V's name starting with a V. *Taiki's dagger is named "Tenacity" due to Usa's supportive and determined role in Taiki's life. Personality Taiki is a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and intelligent youth with a seemingly bottomless sense of energy. He is a confident boy, practically cocky with how sure he is of himself, and he adores praise; he loves attention and affection, and he makes a show out of receiving them. Theatrical, dramatic, and fond of romance and comedy, Taiki is at his best when he is the center of attention and he is putting a smile on everyone's faces. He finds most things incredibly exciting, and he displays his appreciation for the things he likes both verbally and physically - namely, shouting praises, jumping in place with excitement, and having his eyes sparkle with delight. While Taiki loves people and likes to learn about them, he has a strong sense of morals and beliefs. Like his brother, he dislikes being challenged; he would sooner laugh off those who stand in his way than he would snap at them, but Taiki is prone to getting angry once he realizes that people are clashing with his views. Unlike his brother, Taiki stays and fights for his beliefs until either his challenger backs off or something interrupts him. Pre-Entry Fee Selfless to a fault, Taiki was sooner to give up everything he owned for friends and strangers alike before helping himself. He finds the good in everybody he meets and latches onto others quickly, making him fast to overlook the faults in others in order to become friends with them. He gets turned off by people who either refuse help or seemingly want to struggle - but before his entry fee was taken, Taiki didn't have the heart to act on his discomfort with such persons. While he knew that he didn't look out for himself, he felt obligated to be happy for the people he loves - especially his family - even if it costed him his true happiness. It is due to this sense of self-sacrifice that Taiki refused to eat before others had food, promised to partner with Kou when he truly wanted to partner with Celfi, and indirectly told Hawk that he would sacrifice himself if it meant that Hawk would give life another chance. Entry Fee Taiki's entry fee was his selflessness. As the emotional support of his broken family, Taiki's habit of giving up any semblance of personal wants and genuine feelings in order to cheer people on was something he took pride in. However, this was also taking a toll on him mentally and emotionally, and prevented from admitting his confusion and sadness to those he was closest to. As his week's theme involved fees that held people back, Taiki's selflessness was taken. Because of this, Taiki became a lot more insensitive, blunt, coarse-mouthed and overall selfish. He developed a nosy streak, often poking his nose into other peoples' lives when he has no business in them. He adopted the need to announce his (dis)interest and (dis)taste in certain things over others, making his preferences much more distinct than how he used to act; said displays are often childish, brutally honest, and even hurtful. His feelings and wants had become his utmost priority, even in the face of his own friends' and partner's dilemmas; because of this, helping others and trying to understand them physically pains him. Negative emotions such as anger, jealousy and sadness temporarily override his natural cheerfulness due to repressing said feelings for years. While Taiki had done his best to curb his entry fee's effects from Days 1 through 3 - and only subjected his partner, Kou, to his fee at full throttle - the boy eventually became too strained by the effort and needed a fighting session with Jean in order to vent out his misery. It was with this battle that Taiki admitted that life had truly made him hurt deeply; his family's issues, and his constant dismissal from the truth of matters by the people he loved, rooted a sense of anguish that Taiki actively fought against before he died. Following the fight, Taiki allowed himself to act upon his fee while pushing the rest of the Players forward with him. Finally, Taiki discovered the darkest part of his fee during a fight with Runa: Taiki's selfishness bypassed his morals when it came to life and death, and Taiki would not hesitate to kill a person if it meant that he would get what he wanted. Disgusted with himself, Taiki turned his selfishness around by stating to Kou and the Players that he expected them to spare others when he couldn't. Through this method, he was able to keep his hands clean for the rest of the week. Post-Game Upon winning, Taiki asked Jean to return his entry fee partially. Afraid that he would fall back into ignoring his feelings in order to make others feel better, he requested that Jean only gave him enough selflessness to fight off the physical pain that being kind inflicted otherwise. Jean granted his wish, making Taiki feel as if a literal weight had been lifted from his chest. Without feeling hurt from helping others, yet with a renewed awareness of his feelings and wants, Taiki returned home feeling happier than he ever was... and now, with a plan to make everybody even better than they ever were. Other notable behaviors Taiki has are: * Taiki was given a simplified, fantastical view of the Game and its intentions by Jean upon waking up in Shibuya, where Players were described to be "heroes" and Noise were called "monsters." Taiki had since decided to call every person they meet in the Underground a hero, even if they are not Players. After Shino's erasure, Taiki dropped the heroes vs. monsters viewpoint for most conversations; he holds steadfast to the belief that even Reapers can be heroic and good, despite this. * Taiki introduces himself as Taiki-kun to everybody he meets, followed by him taking both of a person's hands and shaking them. He dropped the physical part of this introduction after seeing how displeased Runa and Cheer were with it. * When waxing poetic, Taiki refers to himself as "a charming and handsome prince." Out of all of the Hiraoka brothers, he illustrates himself to be the most charismatic of them all. In fact, Taiki works very hard on looking his best in order to keep up this image, and even playfully flirts with others to further accentuate his charms. Have you seen the way this kid gets numbers??? He's got more game than I do- * Taiki is very expressive. He accentuates his surprise or discovery of new information with loud gasps, wide hand gestures, dramatic posing and other methods of communicating excited understanding. * Taiki's a sharp fricker; he might not be experienced with the world at large, but he can tell when people are bullshitting him. Pre-entry fee, he is too nice to point this out, as he doesn't want to hurt others' feelings and appreciates the fact that they are trying to protect him. Post-fee and post-game, he points things out and refuses to let things go until the person in question speaks up. * Taiki loves being held and patted. Physical affection simultaneously calms him and makes him feel safe and happy. However, a deeply angered Taiki would refuse being touched until he handles whatever was making him angry. * THE RUMOR COME OUT: DOES HIRAOKA TAIKI IS GAY? * Taiki is terrified of turtles, and hates them because of it. History Pre-Game (Up to Week 11) The Hiraoka family was once a family of five: a mother, a father, and three boys. Taiki, the middle brother, was a naturally playful and mischievous boy growing up; he had plenty of friends throughout the school years, and his older and younger brothers were the greatest friends any boy could ask for. Taiki was especially close to Kogasa, who in turn was close to his father. Yet, one day, Kogasa stopped being friendly with Taiki and started drowning himself in advanced studies. Too young to understand why Kogasa had become distant, Taiki had turned to his parents, only to find that they too were acting strangely; his mother and father acted uncomfortably around each other, and his father seemed angrier and angrier with each passing day. The three boys were entrusted to a babysitter from the moment the day until late into the night, further alienating Taiki and Nori from the tension his home adopted. Yet Kogasa seemed to understand what was going on, and asking either him or his father details on the situation resulted in a cold shoulder from both parties. Taiki, who was hurt and confused about being left in the dark, had turned to hoping with all his heart that everything would go back to normal soon. Then everything fell apart when Kogasa was hospitalized. Taiki's father had become distressed and aggressive upon Kogasa's near-death experience. Fights between him and his mother escalated - his mother had Taiki and Nori stay with their babysitter for even longer periods of time, even for days at a time, in order to spare them from their hostile home environment. His parents had had enough of each other, and the months wherein Kogasa was hospitalized were spent on divorce papers and deciding which parent kept what. As the quarrels at home roiled on, Taiki and Nori's babysitter brought the two boys to the hospital where Kogasa rested. At first, the two boys didn't know what to do; their older brother always had the foresight to take care of trouble before they even knew what was happening, after all. Yet as time passed, the brothers came to the understanding that Kogasa would want both of them to be strong, for both their families and for themselves. Taiki and Nori told Kogasa's stories, let him know how their parents were doing, and held his hand until he finally woke up one day. The shock, relief, love and tears that flowed out of his eyes that day made Taiki think of one thing only. Taiki never wanted anything to take happiness away from his family again. Pre-Game (Post Week 11 to Week 14) Following Kogasa's recovery, the Hiraokas were met with great changes. Taiki's father was officially out of their lives, and Taiki's mother had to concentrate on hunting for jobs. Money, which had always been scarce for the family, was even harder to scrounge up, and for a moment it seemed as if the cost of Kogasa's hospitalization would completely drain the family's funds dry. However, Kogasa had come back from the hospital with help in his wake. Jean and Carel Duvert stepped into the family's lives providing money and babysitting services for them, including transportation in the form of Jean driving the boy from school to Cat Street and back home. Kogasa's friends, particularly Sayoko and Amaryllis, were not only generous friends with the Hiraoka boys but were clearly important people to Kogasa. Kogasa, himself, stopped shouldering work and started pursuing his passion for soccer and - to Taiki's delight - kendo, and seemed like a much happier person. The next two years was an uphill battle against poverty that every Hiraoka and person involved seemed to have a hand in. While times were happier, they were still hard; stress accumulated from being a single parent took a physical toll on Taiki's mother in the form of constant illness, and Kogasa had days where he was unspeakably angry or sad. Taiki, determined to keep everybody's spirits high, became the family's cheerleader and number one optimist, and made sure that the people he was surrounded with knew that he had faith in them. As the years progressed, however, this behavior came at the expense of his own questions and worries - he had no idea on the truth of their situation, nor the reasons why Kogasa was able to rally so much help despite being antisocial and hospitalized long ago. Unwilling to give himself time to ask others questions in order to avoid causing problems, Taiki buried his concerns with his natural optimism. Before Death: Taiki, accompanied by his friends from school, were on the way to Cat Street when he got into an argument with a classmate. In a fit of anger, his friend pushed him into incoming traffic within the Miyashita Underpass. The next moment, Taiki awoke with an injured shoulder and Jean's fond, upset smile. Pre-Week 15 Taiki took up residence in Ribbonshades as he waited for the Game to begin. His method of learning about his role and the Game's functions were roundabout, to say the least; however, Taiki understood the trials he has to face as well as any Player and Reaper, and he actively sought others in order to form friendships, extend his understanding, and answer questions upon his brother's newly revealed connections with the Underground. Taiki met as many people as he could; however, some would greatly impact his experience as a Player. Among these were Kou, Celfi, Cheer, Runa, Shino and Hawk. Hawk, in particular, gave Taiki a motivation to play that extended beyond Taiki's drive to go back to life and to his family. With this conversation, Taiki was convinced that Hawk would rather let the Players erase him than live life. Upon being asked what he would do if he encountered somebody who wanted to stop living, Taiki stated that he would give them the opportunity to grant life another chance. When asked if the person still refused to live, the boy boldly stated that he, himself, would make sure that they still had that chance. While Jean had intervened at that point, Taiki himself had had enough of the conversation, allowing the diversion to grant him leave and come up with a plan to save Hawk... Before Day 0, a fellow Player named Kou, whom Taiki got to befriend and see a brotherly figure in, told Taiki to be partners with him. Delighted, yet disheartened deep down by the prospect of him projecting Kogasa onto Kou and the thought that he truly would not be able to partner up with Celfi as Day 6 reveals, Taiki went with Kou's proposal. Week 15 Week 15 took place between January 30th and February 5th, 2017. Day 0 was January 29th, 2017. Taiki began the week with Fiery Spirit, Spirited Fire; Wassap Thunder; Lightning Moon; and Blink Step. Act Zero (Day 0) Taiki received a scarf from Jean, and made the scarf the main holder of his pins. Taiki participated in a drawing wall, as well as a fight against an "Ultra Beast" - or, rather, a Jelly Noise that was fashioned to the likeliness of one - and received a Team Skull beanie in recognition of his participation. As Day 1 drew nearer and nearer, Taiki gave Kou one of his bracelets as a reminder for the two of them that they would be partners, no matter what their fees were. Pleased with this promise, Taiki went and held Jean's hand until Day 1 struck. Act One: The Fight (D1 - 3) After entry fees were taken, Taiki immediately partnered with Kou, had a conversation where both Players were struck with how oddly they were acting, and Taiki ultimately abandoned the Players when he realized that he didn't care about how they were feeling. He took his anger and confusion out on his older brother via text messages, stating that Kogasa had hurt Taiki when he kept the truth of his death to himself. Kou found him just as he was banning Kogasa from speaking to him until he won. Realizing how horrible he had been to his older brother at that moment thanks to Kou's help, Taiki vowed to curb his entry fee as best as he could in order to win. Shortly after taking Kou back to Ribbonshades, Taiki left his partner in order to hang out with Meira. He learned about his brother's entry fee and how fees could differ from person to person. He also learned about the frayed relationship Meira and Kou had, and he decided that he would make Kou one of Meira's servants. As mission time approached, Taiki got to hang out with Kou a little bit more and told him of his new fate as Meira's servant, much to Kou's displeasure. Just before Taiki had finished talking about his piece, he lost his balance and fell, and proceeded to get angry over Kou's lack of help. Taiki made Kou sit down and accept another bracelet, stating that while Kou's wooden bracelet represented their promise to be each other's partners, the second one granted each other permission to help one another. No sooner had Kou accepted it did he knock out. Taiki made Ayumu carry Kou back to Ribbonshades, and the boy proceeded to complete the Mission without his partner. As the day progressed, Taiki saw the connection between the punches passed around - both in terms of items and in actions - and felt progressively lonely and frustrated over the absence of his partner. The day went by smoothly otherwise. On the same day, Taiki traded a pin for a black umbrella at Eventide, which came with a level 1 keypin. He had no idea upon what the pin did, but he kept this pin for himself. When Kou finally awoke after the Mission, Taiki made him swear to keep a secret as he dragged Kou out of bed and presented the umbrella and keypin. In the middle of showing them off, Taiki was struck with memories of Kogasa and how his older brother always carried an umbrella with him. Taiki, feeling bitter about Kogasa's secrecy once more, made Kou keep the black umbrella as Taiki kept the keypin to himself. With Rikuto and Manami's erasure, Taiki was struck with rage over the fact that many Players or Reapers found the pair's sacrifice to be stupid. The boy saw it as the pair's way of helping the Player body as a whole, even if he didn't like the thought of killing Hawk. However, Taiki was made to pause as he contemplated the true meaning behind acts of selfishness and acts of selflessness, and whether or not saving Hawk was something he could even do in the end. Taiki landed himself into trouble when he directly challenged Runa to a fight, feeling overly-confident about his abilities. Runa initially proved Taiki wrong as he and Kou struggled to fight a single Sprog. The fight ended up becoming an eye-opening battle for himself and Kou when they were tossed an extra Hopper to defeat, revealing their determination and their capabilities as fighters and partners. Taiki, overwhelmed with this realization and feeling guilty for pushing his expectations of his older brother onto Kou, left the Noise plane feeling pained. As Kou comforted Taiki, Taiki confessed that Kou reminded him of his older brother. When Kou equally confessed that Taiki reminded him of his father, the two were able to laugh it off and become closer friends. Soon after reconciling with Kou, he and the rest of the Players were called to test out technology that Takamagahara sent to Shibuya. Taiki proceeded to get an emotionally and mentally scarring experience as the Players fought, then desperately tried to save, Mizuno, who had been trapped within a mech. The following "erasure" of the Officer and her sudden reappearance later did not ease the poor boy's mind. RIP Taiki that day. Act 2: The Fall (D4 - 5) Taiki was struck with rage upon Ryley and Corona's erasure - again, towards the Players and Reapers who found Cheer's actions to be unjustified. Taiki agreed to his ideals upon love, as they were aligned with Taiki's own. Cheer, later on that day, returned the glass that Taiki presented him with and left as soon as he did. Finally succumbing to the pain that his fee inflicted, Taiki aggressively pursued Cheer, returning the stone forcefully as he affirmed Cheer's beliefs and redefined what a hero was. Cheer thanked Taiki and returned the child to the Player group just in time to face the Glitch Hop Pig. The pressures of the Day further shattered Taiki's resolve, rendering him unable to summon his usual weapon ensemble in favor of violently releasing electrical charges. Once the Pig was erased, Taiki stayed in the Noise plane as his grief manifested an electrical barrier around him. Jean phased in and approached the upset Taiki, absorbing the child's frantic psyche and comforting the boy. Taiki stated, upsettedly, that he didn't want to hurt anybody, and Jean offered to let Taiki unleash his pain onto his father-figure if it helped him. Taking his offering, Taiki warned the remaining Player in the plane, Keira, to get away before unleashing an onslaught of electricity Jean's way. Taiki took this chance to confess how he had been hurt deeply by his family in the RG, and how he desperately wished that everybody felt his pain, even though deep down he knew that hurting others was something he didn't want. He ended his speech with a plea for help, as he feared that his fee would prevent him from saving Hawk. Jean told Taiki that he was sorry for how much pain Taiki was carrying, and that they boy had the Players to rely upon with his shortcomings. Feeling better, Taiki thanked Jean, and the two stayed in the Noise plane for a few more hours in order to enjoy a period of peace and quiet. Before the two left, Jean offered to show Taiki how to hone his newly discovered psyche preference - pure electricity - to which Taiki enthusiastically latched on to. The following day had been a good one until Hawk erased Shino in front of everybody. Shaken to the point of total shock and silence, Taiki wandered towards the memorial and thought long and hard about what it meant to be a hero. Afterwards, he returned in time to join a dance with the rest of the Players, to which he enjoyed, and was even given a personal song sung by Mizuno about the truths behind war. As Mizuno seemed like a direct challenger to Taiki's more idealistic views, Taiki was allowed a moment to fully consider Mizuno's views without feeling angry, and found a new sense of respect within her. Before the day ended, he pulled Kou to the side and spoke to him about an inkling that Taiki had about himself. Taiki feared that, if faced with the decision to choose between his own life or another's, he would undoubtedly choose his own. Trusting Kou, despite his indecisiveness, Taiki tasked Kou to be the moral grounds for the two to stand upon, stating that it was up to Kou whether or not Taiki hurt others past the point of no return or not. With Kou's agreement, Taiki found some peace. As he and Kou finished the day with a fun battle with Orion, he and his partner drifted off to sleep feeling as if everything would be okay... Act Three: The Finale (D6 - 7) Early in the day, Taiki encountered Celfi, who was acting coldly towards Taiki for reasons he didn't understand. Wanting to understand why they were being mean to him, Taiki made Celfi talk to him. Together, the pair discovered that they both wanted to become each other's partners, but their respective fears and hesitations lead them both to miss such an opportunity. Feeling better, the two made up, and Taiki and Celfi's friendship was amended. Nora gifted Taiki a yellow star as a reminder of his strength, resolve, and hope. Feeling uplifted by her gift, he named the star Kiseki. Taiki and Kou were pulled into a direct fight with Runa. Just as Runa was standing on her last leg (no pun intended-), Taiki struck Runa with a blow that nearly erased her. Horrified at what he had done, Taiki turned to Kou as they both realized that Taiki was right to be afraid of his fee. Kou spared Runa, and Taiki latched onto his decision. Runa would not be erased. Once Taiki and Kou were carried back to the Underground by Mizuno, Taiki rallied everyone's attention in order to tell them what he had told Kou: due to his entry fee, he would go as far as killing a person in order to go back to life. Because of this, he needed to task everyone with the prospect of sparing others, because he wouldn't. The Players and Runa voiced their support, relieving Taiki a little bit. As Taiki sought space from the general crowd in order to accept this new reality, Kazuya approached Taiki and told him that an umbrella in Eventide could help the Players save Hawk. Fully intending to save Hawk despite knowing that he could kill him, Taiki agreed that anything that could save the GM was something he wanted to support. However, this required Taiki to relinquish his yellow star and 2,000 Yen. Physically pained by the prospect of giving up his well-earned items, Taiki came up with an idea: if Kazuya sincerely wanted what Taiki had, he would have to take them from the boy. Hilarity ensued. Taiki fought with Jean on the roof, as per Shibuya tradition, and learned about his dad's kinks. He's eleven. Jesus Christ guys. On Day 7, Taiki gave everybody radical high-fives prior to the fight with Hawk. As the Players located Hawk and were pulled into the Noise plane, he and the rest of the Players fought in the absolute dark as they tried to convince Hawk to tell them why he was fighting them and to stop. As the fight reached its climax and as the supernova came in, Taiki became panicked as Celfi nearly died along with Hawk. Ultimately, all of the Players managed to bring Celfi and Hawk underneath the umbrella, and they waited out the supernova. Once in the clear, the Game Master announced that he had been defeated, and everybody was transported to the Scramble. The ceremony was a mix between being disappointed in others' choices - namely, Keira's decision to replay and Selvira's choice to become a Reaper - and being elated with the amount of people choosing paths that really suited them. Taiki and Kou were last; Kou decided to get his fee back, and Taiki took his back partially - specifically, only enough of it so that being selfless and helpful wouldn't physically harm him. As he and Kou stepped up to receive their choices, the two boys were offered ascension. While Taiki loved the Underground, despite the hardships and pain he endured, he knew that his place was within the RG. Taiki and Kou both chose to return to life. Before being transported to the RG, Taiki went up to Runa - who had not gotten an erasure in - and got to take two selfies with her; one with himself, Kou and she, and another with the entire Week 15 cast behind him. He was delighted to learn that Runa was able to get another chance to be a Reaper by his father; while this meant that Runa would have to erase two pairs of Players instead of one, he fully supports Runa and wants to see her live. Post Week 15 Taiki is a man on a mission... Relationships Kogasa Kogasa is Taiki's older brother by four years. A boy who had always taken to shouldering the brunt of the family's troubles without a complaint, Taiki deeply loves and admire's Kogasa's wholehearted dedication to his family. However, Kogasa is one of the people Taiki is the most concerned about; Kogasa was prone to impatience and exhaustion, and he needed constant reminders that he wasn't as alone as he made himself to be. After Kogasa came out of his coma, he, Taiki and Nori had become closer than ever before. For this reason, Taiki goes out of his way to push Kogasa's buttons in order to make him come further out of his shell, especially when it comes to Kogasa's crush on Amaryllis. Like cOME THE FUNK O''N KOGA-NII-'' When Taiki is waxing poetic, he often refers to Kogasa as "a bravehearted and noble prince." Out of all of the Hiraoka brothers, Taiki illustrates Kogasa as the bravest of them all. Nori Nori is Taiki's younger brother by five years. Despite his youth, Nori displays a level of intelligence that is deeper than Taiki's and a social awareness that extends further than Kogasa's; this is offset by his stone-faced demeanor that is quickly developing into resting bitch face syndrome. Nori's pechant for using his stoicness in order to fully embrace the absurd and comedic is flat out awesome ''in Taiki's opinion, and there is nothing that Nori could do that won't make Taiki laugh. When Taiki is waxing poetic, he often refers to Nori as "a wise and mature prince." Out of all of the Hiraoka brothers, Taiki illustrates Nori as the coolest of them all. Kou A boy who reminded Taiki of Kogasa at first, and had since become a boy of great importance to him. He feels happy and naturally comfortable around the other boy, and feels that their relationship is something beyond one that two brothers would otherwise share. The two bicker and tease each other often; pushing each other's buttons and calling each other names are "signs of love" according to Taiki. Kou is a best friend and partner for life to Taiki, and he loves Kou deeply; he wants to stay in Kou's life even with the game said and done, and wants to see Kou and his mother live a happy life. Taiki initially felt confused around Kou, thinking that he was projecting his admiration of Kogasa onto Kou prior to their week starting. This made Taiki feel conflicted, especially after Kou asked him to be his partner and proceeded to change drastically due to his entry fee. Taiki took the lead in their partnership while simultaneously shoving the brunt of his fee's effects onto Kou: he teased Kou relentlessly for his indecisiveness, tormenting the other boy for his wishy-washiness and openly insulting the boy when appropriate. Eventually, Taiki was able to reconcile with Kou about his cruelty and selfishness, and the two were able to better understand each other since that day. Meira A sentient maze that was created by Nora and Jean (?) and named by Kei. Upon meeting her, Taiki had become instantly amazed by how somebody like her could exist, and enthusiastically vowed to be a knight for her. She is a fun and intelligent person that feeds into Taiki's imagination; in turn, Taiki's genuine stream of compliments for her feeds her ego. After his entry fee was taken, Meira became a patient and informative figure in Taiki's troubled state of being, further deepening his appreciation for her. He unironically calls her his queen, having registered her as "Her Highness" in his phone and calling her just as much when he is with her. He calls himself "the Hero of the Maze" upon being dubbed her knight when they first met, and he carries that title with pride. Hawk The Game Master of Taiki's week. He was initially happy, and ''just happy, to get to know Hawk, despite being unwilling to acknowledge Hawk's self-proclaimed position as the game's "villain." After a conversation wherein Taiki proclaimed that he would save others, even if they didn't want to be saved, Taiki was convinced that Hawk would rather die than live. Taiki strongly feels that this is unacceptable. Finding a way to win the game and save Hawk had since become a secondary goal for Taiki, even if it meant sacrificing himself somehow, with the said goal only trumped by Taiki's desire to come to life and return to the Hiraokas. After his fee was taken and realizing that Taiki would kill Hawk if it meant going back home, Taiki felt disgusted with himself and the very conflicted views he had of the man. He had since placed Hawk's fate in the hands of the Players. Taiki is incredibly relieved that they were able to save Hawk, and wants to spend the rest of his days getting to know Hawk and becoming better friends with him. Jean A man who entered the Hiraokas' lives and helped them in their time of need. Taiki had taken to Jean strongly and unironically calls Jean his dad. He loves Jean for his kindness and generosity, but is far from blind to the man's exhaustion and distress about his work. In some ways, Jean remind Taiki of his birth dad... Taiki confessed to Jean upon Day 4's conclusion his misgivings on their relationship; while he desperately wants Jean to be his real father, the memories of his last one were still strong in Taiki's mind and heart. He dearly loves Jean, though, and to Taiki, Jean is his dad. Being able to tell Jean as much made him feel better, and he is very happy that he got to win the game and make his true father proud. Celfi A Player who Taiki met while waiting for Week 15 to begin. Similar in behavior and ideals, Celfi was quick to make a good impression on Taiki, and he finds them to be a fun friend to have. They possess a red hammer and a sword, giving the pair similar psyches that they've dubbed as a "double bop and double poke" deal. He is very fond of them, and loves being their friend. Before the game began, Taiki wanted to become Celfi's partner for the week, but hesitated due to him thinking that he would be taking away Celfi's chances of finding a partner that they really wanted. At that point, Kou had promised that he would partner with Taiki, and Taiki had been too kind and honored to refuse. During the game, Taiki's entry fee had since gotten in the way of him reaching out to them as he used to, frustrating him. The two were distant and barely spoke to each other due to the pressures of the game; when they finally got to speak to each other again Day 6, they were both on edge and confused about the way they both were acting around each other. The two kids were able to level-headedly resolve the problems between each other, and became friends once more after clearing up their doubts in each other. While Taiki likes to flirt with Celfi, he doesn't harbor any romantic feelings for them. He even confirmed this with himself upon kissing their cheek Day 7, feeling disappointed that he didn't feel a thing from doing as such, yet happy that he was able to be good friends with them instead. Runa A Reaper Taiki got to know before the game began, and who had since become a giant impact in his experience as a Player. He had taken a page from Runa's book upon initially meeting her and started using his phone to log everything about his game - a habit that had since been implemented even after he has won the game. Afterwards, with Runa seeking to help Players grow and challenge them, Taiki took upon a more assertive edge when around her. When Taiki unknowingly challenged Runa, he and Kou were pulled into a battle with a Sprog that was less than remarkable for the Players. Upon Runa and Shiori's scathing commentary, the battle's stakes were heightened as a Hopper was introduced into the field. Thanks to the Reapers' joint efforts, Taiki and Kou were able to demonstrate their determination and growth. Since then, Runa had become one of the Reapers that Taiki truly wanted to impress. This notion made Runa's Day 6 challenge even more horrific for Taiki, as he didn't hesitate to unleash a blow that nearly took her life. While she had voiced her approval of the notion, Taiki still harbors guilt about his ruthlessness. Relieved that Runa can still exist after being unable to erase Players his game, Taiki voiced his support for Runa as she accepted the terms of her next game with Jean. He truly wants her to survive, even if that meant that not one, but two Player pairs will have to be erased. Cheer Taiki initially learned about Cheer from the things Jean told him. Upon meeting him, Taiki was instantly drawn to the man's beauty and willingness to play along with Taiki's antics. The two exchanged numbers since that first meeting, and Taiki had since sent over 200 images of birds to Cheer. The two look out for each other; Taiki is always positive in Cheer's capabilities as a person and as a Reaper, and aggressively sided with Cheer's perspective on love when others demonized Cheer's intentions. Cheer had since shown faith in Taiki, and even preens the child's hair after all of the scuffles Taiki has gotten into. It's pretty darn cute. Taiki fully supports Cheer and wants to get to know him better, and is delighted about him winning, as this means that he can be friends with Cheer without the pressures of Playerdom weighing down on him. Uso Taiki feels greatly conflicted about Uso. On one hand, he likes her; he thinks she's sweet and smart, and admires the fact that she could perform her duties as a Harrier at such a young age. He enjoys her company and was thrilled to discover that she was his sister, and definitely wants to get to know her better. On another, she legitimately scares him a little bit, and her side-commentary about killing more Players during the Player revival ceremony didn't help ease Taiki's nerves around her. He wants to talk things out with Uso, even if that meant taking a crack at the familial bond that they've only just begun to forge. While he had been afraid to do so during the week, as the selfish aspect of his fee made him cling to their new relationship like static to cloth, Taiki feels that the sooner he could come to better understand his sister, the better. Kazuya A man Taiki greatly admires and respects. After realizing that he had a connection with Hawk, Taiki had a feeling that he would be greatly relying upon the distraught older Player. He was even willing to give up his items and yen in order to help Kazuya, despite said method being roundabout. Now that he's come back to life, he wants to continue being friends with Kazuya. Carel A woman who entered the Hiraokas' lives and helped them in their time of need. Taiki had taken to Carel strongly; and, obviously, if Jean was his dad, she'd be his aunt, right? He thinks Auntie Carel's bluntness is a good trait for her, and her struggles with it are funny, if not genuine. He really loves her food! Amaryllis A girl that not only inspired Taiki to become as theatrical as he is (because of Kogasa's awkwardness, really), but also made Taiki realize that Kogasa had really changed somehow from his hospitalization. While Taiki strongly adores Amaryllis and playfully calls her by endearing terms, he likes her strictly as a friend. He is absolutely firm upon getting Kogasa to finally confess to her, as Amaryllis herself had done everything in her power to make her feelings clear. Like SERIOUSLY KOGA-NII STOP BEING A LITTLE SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI-- He always refers to Amaryllis as "Princess Amaryllis." Usa A person who is friends with Jean and Carel, and thus is a friend of Taiki's. He always found them easy to get along with and fun to talk to; their reveal of their position as a Composer hardly deterred his impression of them. He appreciates them approaching them honestly about the nature of the Game, and is one of the people that he doesn't want to disappoint when he has to play. Takumi Also known as Takumi-senpai, Taiki admires the Officer greatly. If their general helpfulness didn't make them a popular Reaper with him, then their generosity, their cool sense of fashion and cosplay, and their knack for pop culture definitely does the trick. He lowkey wants to grow up to be as pretty as them :'D Hisa (Ayumu) A boy who Taiki got to befriend before the Week began. His cool personality reminded Taiki of his older brother at first, but this was soon averted after seeing his more aggressive and reckless side. He thought of Ayumu as somebody he could count on for good conversations and learning new things, which he liked a lot. After telling Ayumu off due to his entry fee, Taiki was crushed to learn that Ayumu was erased the next day. Dax BEES? Kazunori A boy who Taiki got to befreind before the Week began. Dubbed "aniki" because he taught Taiki the secret to throwing a powerful ball with his "cursed" baseball, Taiki had a genuine sense of admiration for Kazunori's technique, dedication to the sport he played, and patience during his mentorship. He looks up to Kazunori as a teacher-like figure. Keira YOU BETTER WIN YOU BASTARD Orion COOL REAPER WHO IS ALSO AN OCTOPUS!! THX FOR THE PRIMARY EVEN THOUGH THEY WERENT SO BAD Lily IMAGINATION IS POWER AND YOU ARE SO IMAGINATION Tomoe COOL MAGICAL GIRL WHO CAN MAKE FUNNY EMOJIS I WANNA BE A MAGICAL GIRL TOO Satsuki TINY FRIEND!!! YOU ARE COOL Akio COOL FRIEND!!! SO COOL!! Shiori YOU SORT OF SAVED MY LIFE DURING THAT ONE FIGHT AND LISTENED TO ME BE SAD AT RIVERBEND AND FOR THAT YOU HAVE MY APPRECIATION Yasumu ARE YOU A CO-HOST OR ARE YOU SECRETLY A DAD I NEVER KNEW I HAD Charles: YOU'RE NOT REALLY A BUNNY AND THAT'S OKAY Nul YOU GAVE ME A FUNNY NICKNAME AND I LIKE THAT Kazuki FRIEND!! Sol FRIEND!! Emiko FRIEND!! Selvira FRIEND!! Anzu NOW THAT I DON'T HAVE MY FEE I FEEL LIKE A JACKASS FOR THAT ONE TIME BUT I REALLY RESPECT YOU NOW!! WHAT A GOOD FRIEND. YEET Nora MEIRA'S CREATOR??? AND A COOL REAPER WHO SHOWED FAITH IN HIM AND GAVE HIM A STAR. SO COOL. SOOO COOL. Aaaand probably more?! Trivia *Taiki's initial personality traits on his Player page were ++ Optimistic || oo Stubborn || -- Naive. *After Day 5, Taiki's personality traits became ++ Aspiring, Loveable || oo Idealistic, Stubborn || -- Cocky, Naive *Before Week 15, Taiki was only in the chatroom if Kogasa was on a phonecall with his family. Taiki, to say the least, made his presence known to everybody within a fifteen meter radius due to how much he loves Kogasa. *Taiki's mental maturity is equal to that of somebody in their twenties due to enduring his family's hardships. Because of his deep understanding of others' emotions and his own desire to bring happiness to people, he was admitted to Shibuya's Game despite being eleven. *Taiki's imagination is higher than his older brother's. However, Kogasa's imagination was initially crippled due to his emotional and mental exhaustion prior to death; Taiki's high amount of energy and increased sense of emotional and mental maturity grants him more power over Kogasa's if only because Taiki had not expended himself for his family as quickly as Kogasa did. *One of Taiki's starting pins - Fiery Spirit, Spirited Fire - was given to him as a mirror of his older brother's own pinset. *Taiki's text color, Radical Red, was chosen based off of Taiki's more extroverted personality in comparison to Kogasa. Red is also the color of a hero. Alternatively, Taiki's counterpart, "Taiki bit yandere," has black text in order to indicate how awful that guy is. *YANDERE!TAIKI IS SEVERELY OOC FOR TAIKI BUT CRACKS CIN UP EVERY TIME, PLEASE KEEP JOKING TO THEM ABOUT THAT-- *LOL WHAT'S A FIGHTING STYLE *LOL WHAT'S A NOISE FORM *LOL *His clothing is eerily similar to a Support Reaper's. TV Tropes: (NEEDS UPDATING) * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BerserkButton Berserk Button] - Watch Taiki go from being a purehearted bundle of joy to rage incarnate at the prospect of people chickening out of romances - specifically, Kogasa shying away from his feelings towards Amaryllis. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrattyHalfPint Bratty Half-Pint] - When the fee hits your selflessness just right… * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CheerfulChild Cheerful Child] - Taiki is just sooo happy aaall of the time!! He's just so cute and pure! * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChronicHeroSyndrome Chronic Hero Syndrome] - Taiki would go out of his way to make others feel better or more comfortable, even if he feels discomforted in the process. But that's okay, because he always has the energy to do such things, and people in need are always a priority to him! Besides, he sacrifices himself for others so often that, pre-entry fee, he really doesn't think much of it - but it would be rude to dismiss others' praise regardless. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConditionedToAcceptHorror Conditioned to Accept Horror]' '- Taiki understands the psychological and emotional damage that comes from being a Reaper, yet he never hesitates to regard Reapers as anything but fellow human being and "heroes." This may be due to his Dark and Trouble Past, or it could be a product of his blinding sense of optimism. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarkAndTroubledPast Dark and Troubled Past] - The main reason why Taiki is just so dang happy and selfless is a direct result of the turmoil his family went through. This is also the main fodder for his status as the Pollyanna. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EasilyImpressed Easily Impressed] - Complete with eye sparkles, Taiki makes it clear when something totally blows his mind - which could be anything of remote worth. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HereditaryHairstyle Hereditary Hairstyle] - The Hiraoka brothers all have ahoges. As the middle brother of three, Taiki has two notable sprouts of hair. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HonorBeforeReason Honor Before Reason] - Pre-entry fee, Taiki would rather go hungry and go cold before a person he knows does either. And for those who try to deny his help, he tries his best to tell them that he would be fine - really! * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KidHero Kid Hero] - Taiki is an eleven year old boy in a realm full of strict rules, monsters, and the odds stacked against him due to his extraordinary amount of maturity. Come on. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OlderThanTheyLook Older Than They Look] - Taiki is an eleven year old boy amongst a crowd of people ranging from thirteen to twenty six years of age, making him an unusual case among Players. How could this be? Despite his bubbly personality, he can understand the nuances of mature topics due to his troubled home situation, and is easily twenty years old in mindset because of this. It’s kind of fucked up. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheKnightsWhoSaySquee The Knights Who Says Squee] - Taiki deeply admires his older brother Kogasa - not to the point of hero worship, however, as Taiki is unafraid to address Kogasa’s shortcomings and can even get very angry with him. But to anyone who would listen, he would tell them about how great Koga-nii is. This extends to his friends, too. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThePollyanna The Pollyanna] - Huh? What’s that? The Hiraoka family is getting ripped apart? A beloved older brother has gone into a four month coma? A close classmate commits murder over a petty argument? People from every corner of Shibuya’s Underground are in turmoil and suffering? That's fine! Taiki keeps his head raised high and finds the good side in, even when he understands how severe certain aspects of bad things are. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?] - If it starts with a T and rhymes with hurdle or porpoise, Taiki wants nothing to do with it. * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Blue Hair] - Taiki has natural, impossibly red-orange hair, despite being 100% Japanese. Gallery Taiki Doodles.png|Taiki's debut sketches. TRG DOOBLES 1.png|General Taiki concept sketches. Taiki W15 Ad LOOSELEAF.png|Taiki's "ad" for Week 15 Taiki W15 Ad LOOSELEAF 2.png|Taiki's delighted with his work! Taiki W15 Ad.png|The fullbodied image for Taiki's ad for W15 Of FUN.png|There are two types of Radical Rubies... ujJMkCn.png|If you restart TRG around January 20th, you have a chance of getting a shiny Taiki! TRG DOOBLES the lunch edition.png|A lunch notice Cin used for school, featuring Taiki Category:Week 15 Category:Players